First 100 Million Doses of Covid - 19 Vaccines To Be Bought By Union Government

In a collaboration with Oxford University and AstraZeneca, SII - world's largest vaccine manufacturer, is working on producing doses for the developing countries. At a price of ₹200, Serum Institute of India (SII) would be selling 100 million doses to the Government of India.

"We can only give to the government of India at the moment," Mr Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India. After the first 100 million doses, the prices will be raised.

While nations such as America and Russia have begun with selective vaccination, developing countries are still struggling to get their hands on this cure. COVAX, a global collaboration to aid the developing countries with their vaccination requirements, is largely dependent on SII. In a statement, Mr Poonawalla also said that SII is in process of a deal with COVAX, for roughly 300 million doses. However, the export would not happen for a couple of months.

"We can’t vaccinate everybody right now. We can prioritize so that at least the most vulnerable in the states of our country or in other parts of other countries are taken care off," said Mr Poonawalla. The Serum Institute of India is also negotiating bilateral deals with countries like Bangladesh, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

According to NEGVAC's recommendation, the distribution of COVID vaccine will start with the healthcare providers and workers, followed by frontline workers including police and armed forces, civil defence and disaster management volunteers and municipal workers.